Viking treasure hoard uncovered

[AngryAmish]

Source: beeb

The most important Viking treasure find in Britain for 150 years has been unearthed by a father and son while metal detecting in Yorkshire.
David and Andrew Whelan uncovered the hoard, which dates back to the 10th Century, in Harrogate in January.

The pair kept their find intact and it was transferred to the British Museum to be examined by experts, who said the discovery was "phenomenal".

It was declared as a treasure at a court hearing in Harrogate on Thursday.



Read more: <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/north_yorkshire/6906107.stm>

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The guys who found it and the owners split the treasure. I think they are going to sell it to the British Museum.

This is so way cool.

[sinkingfeeling]

1. Really neat stuff! Click on the picture in the article to see all of it.

[Lochloosa]

2. Nice haul

[cliss]

11. Fabulous. Thank you

for sharing. This means we'll learn more about the Vikings. I'm sure researchers can't wait to get their hands on the stuff.

THAT I believe is the most valuable part of these finds. Researchers have already made certain assumptions about past civilizations. Every time they find a new hoard, it either reinforces the theories, or it blows them apart.

Cool.

[seemunkee]

3. wonderful

I love Viking art. I've been to the Roskilde ship museum in Denmark and saw the Sutton Hoo artifacts at the British Museum and loved it all. Can't wait to see more photos.

[mikelgb]

4. time to pull out the old metal detector

[xchrom]

5. wow -- that's really wonderful! n/t

[yardwork]

6. Viking plunder!

People have been stealing and rampaging for thousands of years.

The ancient objects come from as far afield as Afghanistan in the East and Ireland in the West, as well as Russia, Scandinavia and continental Europe.

The hoard contains 617 silver coins and 65 other objects, including a gold arm-ring and a gilt silver vessel.

[Lone_Star_Dem]

8. I found that part intriguing also

I mean the part about the various origins of the items. Fascinating glimpse into an ancient civilization.

[UTUSN]

16. Yeah, my first thought was, "Who did the Vikings steal it from?" Flame away. n/t

[KDLarsen]

18. Don't think anyone would want to flame you for that

I grew up in the city that lies on the site of an old viking settlement, Roskilde, and while people were proud of that (especially around the 1000th anniversary of the city), everyone knows that the Vikings weren't exactly gentlemen. And while they did complete some incredible journeys in their day, the background was always the same, that of conquering new territory and most likely remove anyone that got in their way.

[UTUSN]

19. You've been here a long time. I've been flamed for *many* known truths. n/t

[pitohui]

7. it's amazing

walk thru areas of the british museum and the london museum and you get the idea that the whole damn island must be riddled thru w. these treasures

[semillama]

9. In Britain, these types of finds aren't usually kept by the finders

Note the article says:

"Dr Williams said that the British Museum and the York Museums Trust would be looking to raise the funds to purchase the collection so it could eventually go on public display.

The proceeds would be split between the finders and landowners."

So therefore, the finders and the landowners would be paid for the treasure, not that they would keep it.

Here's an excellent FAQ on the UK's Treasure Act: http://www.britarch.ac.uk/cba/potant15.html

One thing I've always wondered about hoards like this one is how did the hider pick the spot? Was it nearby their residence? What's the context of the find? What else is in the area of the hoard that might be contemporary, such as buildings or settlements?

[happyslug]

13. Viking hoard, probably buried at a bend in a Stream or Creek.

Bends in creeks and Streams are preferred to this day when you want to bury something for later use. The water covers up the digging quickly AND the curve in the Creek or Stream generally stays the same even as trees are cut down around it. Furthermore Creeks, Rivers and Streams are often used as roadways. either by boat or by foot for they almost always go the sea (Some Exceptions such as the rivers in the center of Australia). Thus the water course is easy to re-find and follow to the point where the Cache/hoard is located.

As to the Viking, Since they never came back for it, they were either defeated on they way to the Coast, or were never able to return to England to recover their treasure (Fighting at home occurred almost as often as it did in England during the Viking Age).

[BeyondThePale]

10. Cheney claims rights to treasure, claims executive priv.

[happyslug]

12. I ran across a British Law on this several years back

All "Treasures" goes to the Crown (i.e. the Government) but the finders get to collect from the Government what the value of the Treasure is determined to be. The purpose of this law was to make sure such finds go to Museums, but at the same time the finders get something for their discovery (i.e. so the finders have a reason to tell the Government rather than keep it secret).

Furthermore the law on this is quite clear, but the finders avoided a lawsuit by agreeing to split it with the land owners. Under the Common Law (Still the law in ALL states in the US) if you discover something it is yours EVEN IF YOU DISCOVER IT ON SOMEONE'S ELSE'S PROPERTY. The only person who has superior claim to the found property is the real owners (who ever that may be). Case (i think in the 1950s before the above law was passed) a person found a Viking Ship buried on someone's Else's property. The court ruled the ship belong to the Viking who lost it or his heir if that could be determined, but between the land owner and the person who discovered it, the ship belonged to the discover (Through the discover was liable for any damage to the land owner's property on the occurred by removing the ship). From what I gathered it was a nasty piece of litigation, but the law was clear and the land owner LOST.

In this case the discover decided to split the finding fee with the landowner to avoid litigation a smart move in the long run for it is better to get the reimbursement TODAY then five year from now as the legal appeals end.

[muriel_volestrangler]

14. English law possibly updated since then

From the link in post #9:

* where the finder has permission to be on the land, the rewards should continue to be paid in full to him or her (the burden of proof as to whether he or she has permission will rest with the finder). If the finder makes an agreement with the occupier/landowner to share a reward, the Secretary of State will normally follow it;
* if the finder does not remove the whole of a find from the ground but allows archaeologists to excavate the remainder of the find, the original finder will normally be eligible for a reward for the whole find;
* rewards will not normally be payable when the find is made by an archaeologist;
* where the finder has committed an offence in relation to a find, or has trespassed, or has not followed best practice as set out in the Code of Practice, he or she may expect no reward at all or a reduced reward. Landowners and occupiers will be eligible for rewards in such cases. [/div[

[zehnkatzen]

15. Although rather predictably....

...members of the Republican Party have already started to complain that it's theirs, and they want it back...

No, not really. kthxbye! :-)

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

17. Hmmm, $1.5 million.